Blood Red Gaze
by Cannes-de-Noel
Summary: Peony was told that somehow, Jade had died in Tataroo Valley. Three years later, he came back. But in a way nobody thought existed. But Jade's return isn't the only strange thing happening on Auldrant. Yulia was involved in so much more that the score...
1. Chapter 1

Well, I had been sitting on this idea for a week, so I started this. I know, Waterfalls only has one chapter still, but I have about three different scenarios on it, and none of them want to be written.

To sum this all up, this takes place...I don't know, just after Luke returns at the end of the game. They're walking through the valley, to the Albiore, when a certain rouge vampire makes his entrance. Just a note, if you think that the vampires in this stories are going to be like the ones in the 'Twilight' series, you're wrong. Not that far off, but still wrong. They will buuurrrnn in the light. That's all I shall say...

**Disclaimer: I don't own Tales of the Abyss. Vampires are a figment of everybody's imagination... At least, that's what we _think_ we know.**

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Tataroo valley was quiet, save for the sounds of the wildlife and the river. It was dark, in the cover of the trees, but in any clearing, the valley was lit by moon light and the petals of the selenia flowers, which seemed to shine with the life of the night. But all wasn't still, not while a certain group of people were moving through the forest. They walked merrily in some cases, but happy over all. Six figures picked their way around the roots and weeds on the path, to a dark shape in the distance. But unknown to them, there was a seventh being following behind them, hidden by the shadows.

Ryden dug his fingers into the ground, locking his jaw and trying to focus on something else other then the scent that was practically eating his ability to control himself. He was a rouge vampire yes, but that didn't mean that he had lost all dignity. He still had control around humans... Most of the time. The scent of this particular 'human' was driving him insane! It was taking almost everything he had just to sit still, and quietly stalk his prey. Just as he'd been doing for the last couple of months. But it smelled so good and-no! Control yourself, Ryden! The rouge kicked himself mentally for letting his mind wander.

It was the eyes of this human that hooked him. They were blood red, like his own. And they were the reason that Ryden wasn't sure if this human was really, truly human. It didn't take long for him to figure out that he was in fact, human. He spent these last months fantasizing day and night(because it wasn't like he could actually sleep. That was one thing that the humans pinpointed on the 'imaginary being' called the vampire. They couldn't sleep.) about the taste of his blood(because if it smells good, then it must taste even better, right?). Unfortunately, he couldn't taste his blood, not even a drop. For one, the man never seemed to get hurt in battle, so he never bled. And another, he was surrounded by other humans(some of which...didn't smell as good as he. Then again, that little girl seemed...). And finally, it's hard to get what you want when you're being constantly searched for by the Grand Council of Jue's Castle.

Jue's Castle... His old home. The home of all vampires, controlled by the Grand Council, which is composed of the oldest vampires living on Auldrant. The story is quite simple really. 2000 years ago, humans were more...aware of the presence of vampires. The seemingly mythical race was constantly hunted down by groups who called themselves 'vampire hunters'. It was only when Yulia Jue herself stepped in that the killing of vampires ceased. People thought the vampire race extinct, but they were very far from it. Yulia used her power, along with the elite power of the fonon sentiences to create the castle which would be the home of vampires all over Auldrant for as long as the fonons themselves lived. The vampires themselves considered themselves indebted to Yulia for what she did (you can't just live in Jue's Plain and NOT be thankful. That's the whole reason the castle was named after the scorer.), but he didn't. Ryden didn't see why the vampires should worship a _human _of all things. That's why he was considered a rouge, and was being hunted by the Grand Council. In his mind, humans were food, that's all.

Ryden squirmed silently in his position. Each time his 'prey' moved a step closer to his hiding spot, to avoid a charging beast(which smell terrible, and almost ruined the scent that his mind was stuck to) or some action of the sort, it became slightly harder to control his thoughts-which were already running wild. The fact that Ryden hadn't drank _any_ form of blood in the last few days was only making this worse. He should have prepared better. You can't properly stalk your prey when your throat is practically on fire. That, and the more time he spent with out blood, the more his body seemed to...degrade. His over all health was degrading the more time passed.

"Hey Jade, you haven't said much of anything! Aren't you happy that I'm back, or did you not miss me at all?"

Jade... Jade. Ryden liked that name, it fitted him so well. He could just see what the man would look like if he were actually a vampire. It wasn't hard, obviously. He already had red eyes-a mystery who's answer still evaded him. How could it be possible for a human to have red eyes? And he was already pale like paper, despite the fact that he lived in the Malkuth capital, Grand Chokmah. Just add a slight silvery sheen to his hair, it'd be perfect. That and some fangs(one of the famous traits of the vampire) and... Augh! Stop stop stop it!! Ryden shook his head.

Stop thinking about it! Get these fantasies out of your head! This isn't the best you've come across, right? What about that girl uh, what was her name? Oh, he couldn't remember. That was almost 100 years ago... It's just been so long since he had a good meal without the Council on his tail.

When Ryden finally looked up after rounding up his thoughts once again, he frowned when he saw that the group that he had been stalking-that Jade in particular-had gone ahead. He jumped away from his previous spot to follow them. A evil sort of grin spread over his face when they came back into view. His silvery-black hair fell over his eyes as he ran, only giving him more cover in the darkness. But soon, they would arrive back at the strange flying machine, and he'd be forced to run across the continent again in pursuit. Oh, how all that running made his legs tire...

"Think of the prize Ryden, think of the prize..." he whispered to himself. One would call him almost insane if they saw him. That's what a rouge vampire was, insane. Constantly thirsting for blood and pain, and dominance over the humans. Rules being the last thing on its list of priorities. Insane, out of control, rouge, Ryden. He was the last rouge on the planet. All others had been hunted down by the council, and executed. He wasn't going to be executed. He wasn't getting caught. Rem's power was hard enough just to think about. But actually having to stand in it? That was how a vampire was executed. That was why Jue's Castle was shrouded in eternal night.

"-actually I'm just happy to have my favorite test subject alive and well again!"

"O-oh okay... Heheh, er, thanks?"

Ryden listened carefully to the conversation. To Jade's teasing and that red-head-Luke was his name?- edging away from the other. Moments passed, and they got closer and closer to said strange flying machine. All of a sudden, everything just cracked and fell apart. His plan disappeared.

The first thing that happened: a wild beast burst from the bushed in front of the group, and charged. Jade jumped backwards in order to avoid the horn on the tip of it's nose. He jumped back, almost right in front of Ryden's hiding spot. Suddenly the vampire lost all control. He was so thirsty, and Jade smelled so good! His body seemed to act without thought or any form of mind, just instinct. The instinct to kill... He felt the ground rush away from his, his cover blown as he lunged for the man's neck. Despite it being covered by his military uniform, that could easily be taken care of.

"Colonel, look out behind you!"

"Jade!"

Damn! Ryden cursed in his mind. He missed! Jade jumped to the side just before Ryden could get his arms around him. He landed on the other side of the path on all fours, growling at the group. They were in his way! He didn't bare his fangs however, he couldn't have these people finding out about him. That would put the Grand Council on high alert, no doubt about it, then he'd really be in trouble.

"What's with this guy?!" A small raven haired girl cried. He watched for a split second as the doll on her back grew.

He lunged again, but the rapier of the blond swordsman blocked his path. "Hah!" He grabbed the sword, snapping it as if it were a stick. Ryden tried to kick his opponent, but he dodged just before his foot came into contact with his face, wheeling back and falling. Close enough.

Jade had stepped back from Ryden, and was charging an arte. Perfect! He wouldn't be able to dodge him again. Ryden launched himself towards the fonist with a wide grin. His eyes were wide and his hair was a mess. He truly looked insane.

"Colonel!" The girl on her doll cried out again as Ryden pinned Jade to the ground, ripping his collar away. Both Luke and his puppeteer friend lunged at him, but he jumped up, delivering a punch that knocked them both to the ground.

"Luke!" A brown haired girl ran to Luke's side, while another blond haired archer rushed to the other. Ryden grinned and turned to Jade again, pinning him to the ground once more.

His brown hair was in slight dissarray, with the same red eyes as Ryden glaring back. "What do you want from me?" he asked.

Ryden's grin took at turn towards the 'sadistic' side, showing his teeth. "Isn't it obvious?" Jade's eyes grew wider. "Oh," Ryden ran a cold finger along Jade's jaw line. "But I would hate to see a face like yours in pain..." he mumbled. Jade turned his head away, trying to avoid him, making Ryden laugh to himself. "Don't worry... It won't hurt...much." Without another word, Ryden leaned forward(screw being dramatic, he was dead thirsty!), and let his teeth sink into Jade's neck.

Luke watched in horror as this strange man who'd jumped out from the forest, leaned down on Jade. He couldn't see what he was doing to the Colonel, but he had a pretty good idea what was happening. Jade started to squirm under the vampire, trying to free himself. His eyes were shut and his jaw was clenched tight. Luke wanted to help, but the punch that the attacker gave him seemed to have paralyzed him and Anise. Jade's attempts at freeing himself were growing more frantic, and Luke could hear the man gasping for air. "Jade..." Luke tried to speak, but the pain in his stomach kept him from doing so.

"Jade!" Guy, even without his sword, took it upon himself to pull the insane man away from Jade, who was taking deep breaths, still trying to free himself while making strange noises. Guy soon recognized these noises coming from Jade's throat to be cries of pain. He couldn't bear to see the Colonel in such a position. Suddenly, he nearly fell backwards again when something tall and dark appeared in front of him. No, not something, _some things_. Three things.

They were people in cloaks so heavy he couldn't even see their faces. "Who...are you?" One turned to face him.

"It's too late now." His voice was smooth and cold like ice.

Guy stared at him. "What are you talking about? Let me through, I have to-"

"No." He held out an arm. "It's too late." the figure turned back to his companions. He nodded, and they were suddenly next to Jade, pulling his attacker away.

Everybody watched as the man struggled to escape, but both of the cloaked men held him with a firm grasp while the third knelt next to Jade. His uniform, neck and face were covered in his own blood.

They'd been attacked by a vampire, and Jade had been bitten.

"Blood! I want-I want his blood! Give it to me! Give it to meee!" The vampire struggled, thrashing wildly in their arms. Guy's brain tried to register what was happening as he watched the third cloaked man hold Jade's head in place. Suddenly, he stopped struggling and fell completely limp in the man's arms.

"What's going on here?" Natalia asked next to Anise.

"..." No one answered her. But the two men holding the wild vampire whispered to each other. Their third companion nodded, and they disappeared.

"Hey!" Guy approached the last cloaked man. "What's going on here? Answer me? What's going to happen to Jade?"

"...Some times," he lifted his head. "It's better not to know the truth." He laid on gloved hand over Jade's bleeding throat. They watched in silence as he brought his hand back to where his mouth would be, beneath the hood. Guy wore a face of slight disgust when the hand came back down, clean of the blood that was previously there. "Forget what happened here." He raised his hand again, but this time, he seemed to be healing them. Guy turned and saw that Luke and Anise were finally getting to their feet.

"Explain yourself!" Natalia too stepped off the ground, followed by Tear. They all wore extremely worried expressions.

"What's going to happen to the Colonel?" Anise asked, eyes fixed on Jade's face, getting paler by the second.

"I said forget. It is not a matter of yours." The man's voice remained smooth. He continued setting his hand over different parts of Jade's body, which seemed to be twitching still.

"Yes it is!" Luke exclaimed. "Jade's our friend! What could you possibly do that wouldn't be our matter?!"

Instead of replying, the man brought his arms under Jade's body and lifted him off the ground. He stood silently in front of them for a moment. "I am sorry, I could not prevent this... Please, forget..." Then, he disappeared just like his comrades had.

"Forget?! Hey, come back here!" Luke ran forward. "Where are you taking him? Jade!"

It was completely silent. Every one was still trying to work out what had just happened in the last few minutes. Luke stared down at the spot wear Jade was laying only seconds before. Only a small puddle of blood remained on the path. "He's...gone..."

"Wh-what was that?!" Anise burst out. "What just happened? Where's the Colonel? What are we supposed to do now? It's just one problem after another, isn't it!!"

"I think... We just had a run in with a-a vampire." Guy said, the words seeming impossible to him. Were they all dreaming? "I think..."

"...We should go to Grand Chokmah. We should tell Peony..." Luke said quietly. He turned and started walking to the Albiore again. Everyone else followed behind. Anise stopped, taking a glance at the puddle of red behind them.

"Anise?" Tear called to her.

"I-I'm coming..." _He's gone... What's going to happen to the Colonel now...?_


	2. Chapter 2

Jade honestly did not know if he were dead or alive. He couldn't move, it was like he was floating. Yet, every part of his body seemed to be in pain. He couldn't really be dead then, death can't possible be as painful as this. Or cold. Jade felt like every drop of warm blood in his body had just drained away, like he'd been buried in ice. All he could hear was the seemingly non-existent blood in his ears. But his breath still came in long, slow draws. He was still alive... for now. The fact that the pain was more intense in his mouth only made it harder to try to concentrate on what was happening.

Strange tingling in his throat...

It was hard for Jade to remember what happened before now. He knew that he'd gone to Tataroo valley, and some how, Luke had been there. What happened next? A flash of an insane laugh, and a sadistic face, and fangs... A vampire. He'd... he'd been bitten by a vampire? No. no, no , no. That wasn't possible, because vampires are mythical creatures. They don't exist, it's_ impossible_ for them to exist. The dead cannot live! He would have figured that out long ago if it were possible! But his neck had hurt so much...

Suddenly, the slow pulsing in his ears stopped, the feel of his heart beating in his chest disappeared, the pain ebbed away. He froze. Was he finally dying now? But what about everybody else? Luke, Anise, Tear, Natalia, Guy, did they know where he was? Were they with him, where ever the hell he was? did they know he was dying? He couldn't breath, his lungs were on fire, burning the oxygen away. He was choking and his body seemed to become number as the painless seconds dragged by. The pain was slowly disappearing... Jade didn't try to move, he welcomed death finally, with open arms.

...But it didn't come.

Cold, fresh air returned to his lungs, and he took in a long breath of air, taking note of the tingling (now a small urge to itch) in his throat, exhaling with confusion. He was... still alive? But where was the beating of his heart? Why couldn't he hear the blood pumping in his ears? It wasn't possible, he couldn't be...

"You may open your eyes now."

Where ever Jade was, he wasn't alone. He waited a few moments, the sound of some ones breathing next to him reached his ears, barely there. He tried to listen for anything else, but he appeared to be alone with the stranger.

"I know you're awake. You can't be asleep, vampires cannot sleep. Not even a new born."

A scent filled his nostrils. Something sweet and... rusty?

Vampires. New born? Jade finally opened his eyes a crack, and was met with moon light pouring in through a window. He stared ahead for a moment before noticing something. The slight blur caused by his fonic sight gathering fonons was just... not there. He turned his head, and his eyes made contact with a set of blood red eyes smiling back. The man next to him had black hair that seemed to have a silver sheen in it, and a cloak like the men in Tataroo Valley, but he had no hood. He also had a small gold symbol on his chest, a dagger, and a flower.

"Nice to see that you've woken up." The man said in a cool, smooth voice. He never broke eye contact, nor did he blink. "My name is Emindrunum. I am the third elder of the Grand Council. Now I suppose you'd like to know what that is, and where you are?" Emindrunum meant 'timeless problem' in Ancient Ispanion, if Jade was not mistaken. A fitting name for what he was.

The tingling was getting more intense...

Jade nodded. Emindrunum continued. "You are in Jue's Castle, the home of all the vampire race on Auldrant. The Grand Council, is the force that controls it. If you are thinking that Yulia Jue had some connection to this place, then you are correct." he smiled, confirming the question that had barely entered Jade's head. "Two thousand years ago, man kind was more... aware of our presence. But Yulia built this place for us, so that the men who hunted our kind was cease doing so." he explained. "We've lived here ever since."

Jade admitted (in his mind) that he was amazed. The entire (non-mythical) race of vampires had remained hidden since the Dawn Age. With the help of _Yulia Jue_. But how?! How had this castle remained unseen by anybody? Where could it have possible been built?

It went from tingling to burning... What was that smell?!

"I suppose..." Emindrunum continued again. "Not even the oldest of us remember how she did it... How this castle has stayed hidden from all of man kind for two thousand years... Rem and Shadow are powerful beings, after all."

Emindrunum smiled again as Jade's breath turned slightly shaky. "My apologies. I've spent to much time speaking. You must be thirsty, aren't you?" He reached over, some where out of Jade's sight, but when it came back, the scent and the burning in his throat became more intense. A simple. clear glass cup was in Emindrunum's hand. Not of water, like you would normally give a person when they were just about dead, blood.

Jade didn't know exactly what happened, but when he opened his eyes again, both he and Emindrunum were on the floor, the glass was empty and cracked next to them. Jade ran his tongue over every surface of his mouth, swallowing the blood that remained, the burn in his throat was reduced to a tiny tingling sensation again.

Emindrunum sighed, glancing at the cracked glass. "Perhaps I should have brought a simple paper cup."

Jade pushed himself back on the bed, allowing Emindrunum to reclaim his chair next to said bed. "I... apologize..." he mumbled.

The Elder didn't seemed trouble the least bit. "Oh don't be. What you did was perfectly natural. I wouldn't have been surprised if you attacked me the second you woke up. It's happened. But I know you have more control than that." he smiled again.

Jade however, wasn't really listening. He was busy running his tongue back and forth over his new fangs. They were smooth and sharp, and felt much larger than the rest of the teeth surrounding them. In other words, they were unfamiliar. When he lifted his gaze back to Emindrunum, his face was much closer. He lifted a brow.

"Sorry to disturb your exploring, but may I ask you to open your mouth for a moment?" Jade decided to do as he was asked, letting the other vampire hold his chin lightly with a cool hand. "I love a newborn's fangs..." he muttered in an admiring tone.

"Whas tha diffarase?" Jade asked, his mouth still wide open for Emindunum to look inside.

"They're much shinier, and sharper than any other vampires." he replied. "Like silver... Though I've never been able to have one for my...collection." He lightly tapped on of the fangs, and was barely able to pull his hand back before Jade snapped his mouth shut with a slightly disturbed look. Emindrunum chuckled. "But I wasn't planning on taking one of yours! I was just commenting... They are rather...beautiful..." His eyes came to rest on Jade's. "I love a newborn's eyes." he said in the same, admiring tone.

"May I ask why that is as well?" Jade didn't really like this man. He gave of a... well, a creepy air just hang around him.

"They different. We don't know why a newborn's eyes take such a color, but that what I like. We don't know." Jade would have asked what the difference was, but Emindrunum sighed and stood up (letting Jade take in a slightly relieved breath). "Well, I must apologize. I must be going, running this place has it's ups and downs, I'm sure you must understand." He smiled down at Jade, a strange twinkling look in his eyes. "I bid you farewell, for now. I will have some one watch over you for the next few days. We can't just have newborns running around every where, can we?" He headed for the door, then paused. "Leon, show him the ropes for me, would you?"

As the door clocked shut, Jade's attention turned to another body in the room that he hadn't noticed before. A man sitting on one of those annoying little spinning chairs, spinning around with a book in his hands. He sat a bit shorter than Jade, with the same blood red eyes as Emindrunum, brown hair (which also seemed to have a silvery look to it), and a bored face.

"Well," Leon snapped the book shut. "I've sat here longer, read that thing a million times." He grinned broadly, throwing the book on the shelf behind him. "So, introductions. I'm Leon, my real name is longer, but I won't say it because it's ridiculous. My job is to watch over the newborns that come into Jue's Castle. In other words, I'm your baby-sitter until you are no longer a newborn vampire. I think that's about it... What about you?"

Great. Jade had a baby-sitter. "My name is Jade."

Leon cut him off here. "That probably all I need to know. We don't get many newborns anymore nowadays. The Council got the last rouge, last I heard, so you're the last one. But we know what happens. A vampire has no use for human memories."

"In other words, I'm slowly going to lose all memories of being human." Jade said, Leon nodded.

"Exactly. Now, vampires 101." Leon crossed his legs in the chair. "Some memories go pretty fast, and some redefine the word slow. Had any good friends?"

Jade paused. He traveled the worlds with five-no six other people. Mieu should count as well, probably. Now how could he ever forget Peony? "Yes. I guess you could say that."

"Well, depending on how good they were as friends, those are some memories that are gonna take a few years." Leon said. He paused for a moment. "Uh let's see. It's been a while since I had to do any baby-sitting, I haven't had to explain anything in a while. Let's see, immortality, I think you should have already figured that out."

"Exactly how long are you 'my baby-sitter'?" Jade asked.

"Huh? Oh that? Just until you aren't considered a newborn anymore. That happens when your eyes turn red, like ours." Leon explained. "A newborn is told apart from other vampires by the color of their eyes. They're always yellow-ish-gold-ish. Let's see," he paused again. "The process takes about... a year, max. Depends on how much blood you drink, what type, animal or human, all this other crap." he shrugged. "Well, a year is as long as I've ever had to baby-sit."

"I see..." Jade didn't know when the last time was when he had to have so much explained to him. But when you're suddenly part of a whole other race (which was thought to be mythical), things like this must tend to happen.

"You're gonna miss some things about being human, most likely." Leon said. "But I wouldn't know, I was never human."

"What do you mean?"

"To sum it all up in the Elders words, there are two types of 'Lamia', vampires. Converted and Natural, made and born. 'Converted' vampires are pretty rare now, we don't have rouges running around as much anymore. These vampires that are made through heing bitten only have a few differences, first, they have gold eyes for a bit. And, they can't reproduce like natural vampires."

Leon mention 'rouges' a lot, Jade noticed. "What exactly is a 'rouge'?" he asked.

"They're just a normal vampire, but they don't live within Jue's Castle. They don't believe that we should be thankful at all towards Yulia for building this place. In other words, they break the law. They wander the world, and don't care who they bite. Humans are food, that's what they always say." Leon explained. "I say converted vampires are rare now because the last rouge finally got caught. Slimy bugger slipped passed the Council for about one hundred years. From what I heard, there were people with you before you got bitten, which slowed him down. The Council caught up, brought him and you back here, and I got my baby-sitting job again."

"...What happened to...him?" Jade said, a flash about the night in Tataroo passed through his mind.

"Executed. The Elders took him out of the castle, waited for sun rise, and just left him in the middle of the field, chained to the ground, probably. That's what they usually do. Anything else you wanna know?" Leon asked. "...Don't worry, that memory will be gone at some point too." he added.

"...Vampires can't sleep, right?"

"Nope. Not even if they tried for a million years. I would know, I tried." Leon shook his head. Jade raised a brow. "I was a little kid! What do you think I was going to do? Come to think of it, you're like a little kid too." he chucked when Jade looked slightly annoyed by his comment. "I mean, a newborn can't really control itself around blood, trust me, I've seen way worse than knocking an Elder over. But you'll learn, otherwise, you can't leave the castle."

"I thought that you weren't allowed to leave." Jade pointed out.

"I mean, you can't leave unless you have full control over your senses, or at least close enough. I mean, some ones gotta go out and get the blood for the rest of us." Leon explained. "Either that, or you're a rouge."

"I see."

"Well, I can see you're getting bored. I am too, so let's wrap this up. Okay, weaknesses, the wooded stake through the heart. Truth be told you can kill a vampire with a pencil if you had good aim, that's how bad it is to us. And fire, and of course, the power of Rem. A.K.A, the sun, or one of those whatchimicallits, flashlights or somthin'. Those hurt too. I know some one who got touched by one of those, his face was never the same." Leon shook his head. "Anyway, blood diet, that's a given, flying? Pssh no, half our race would have run into a tree by now. Strengths, we're a bit faster and stronger than humans, our skin is a tad thicker, but that's all. What else... We're done, I think. Great!" He jumped off the chair, leaving it to spin around slowly as he headed for the door. "Come on, I'll show you around."

--

Jue's Castle seemed to be much more than a palace. There were streets and shops lining said streets. The streets all seemed to run in different directions, but connect in the middle, the centre being the palace. Jade soon found out that the entire population (which was somewhere around St. Binah's own population) lived inside the palace.

"That's the entrance/exit to this castle." Leon pointed to a lone cobblestone path that lead away from the palace. It disappeared to a dirt path near the ends, which was illuminated by gold, instead of moonlight silver. This gold was surprising difficult to look at for more than a few seconds. "See how it looks like its lit up near the end? That's the sun light from outside. This place is shrouded in eternal night, that piece of the path is the only way to tell if it's day or night in the world outside. And it hurts my eyes, so let's move on."

The gold slowly turned red as they walked away to another section of Jue's Castle. Jade wondered what was happening in the world outside, if anyone was sad that he was 'dead'. Who was going to miss him?

* * *

The city of Grand Chokmah was illuminated a fiery red as the sun hung lazily over the horizon. But Peony wouldn't know that, because Jade's office didn't have a window, and that's where he was. Spinning on the chair that he'd bought his friend, just to annoy him, spinning chair annoyed Jade for some reason. He would never know why. The desk was empty, the files, all of Jade's work had been 'stolen' before the intelligence division could come in and fetch it. They would suspect that someone wanted to continue Jade's research, and stolen the work. They would never guess that it was all shoved in the back of the Emperor's dresser.

The Colonel wouldn't stop by (or be forced to stop by) anymore. No one would be there making sarcastic comments. Jade the rappig couldn't make sarcastic comments, and Jade the rappig was all that was left for company. His cute-little Jade... Peony just hoped that he knew that he would have taken the non-cut one over the cute one. Jade was his best friend, and now he was suddenly gone.

No one to chase away the council with creepy comments now, Peony... No one to eat curry with, or to have that occasional drink with. He couldn't make the voice in his head imitate Jade's. No one to slap some sense into him.

Peony slammed a fist down on the desk suddenly, ignoring the nauseous feeling caused by the chair. He was shaking, tears were welling up in his eyes, threatening to spill at any second. He grit his teeth.

Jade would call him the biggest crybaby in the world. But Jade wouldn't suddenly walk in a kick him out of his chair. He wouldn't come to make those comments that he would laugh at and call him a jerk.

So Peony let the hot tears slide endlessly down his face, half hidden by blond locks. He needed to blow his nose, as the tears fell off his chin onto his shirt.

Like the waterfalls outside, illuminated by the red sun...


End file.
